Quote the Reaper
by ShadowBluebell
Summary: -Based on Bleach- Kagome was always capable of seeing ghosts, but she still managed to live a normal life. That is, until she has an encounter with a wild, dog eared shinigami, who inexplicably saves her life. Let the story begin.
1. My Name

**AN:** I GOT PERMISSION TO CONTINUE THIS from the original author! She didn't want to continue after the first chapter so she gave me the rights to write it! See? Look at the copyright! *Holds up paper* BOOYEAH!

I was listening to Masayoshi Yamazaki's _One more time, One more chance_ when this idea came to me, which is weird because this plot has NOTHING to do with the music. I think. Anyhow, SHAMELESS BLEACH PARODY TIME!

**Disclaimer:** I own neither Inuyasha nor Bleach. At least, not until I can bribe Rumiko Takahashi with a puppy. Preferably a teacup Maltese. And for Tite Kubo…I get the feeling he has a thing for well-endowed girls. It's a hunch.

* * *

**Quote the Reaper **

Number One: My Name

* * *

He despised Tokyo. Knowing he'd be blinded by the lights, deafened by the noises, and paralyzed by the odors always made him cringe whenever he was assigned to the damned city. It couldn't be helped, though. The city was full of _them_, after all.

Overlooking the city's nightlife from the roof of the skyscraper, he stepped onto the ledge and tipped his head back. He sniffed the air once, then twice. He smirked, revealing two pearly fangs between his lips. _"Demons." _With confident grace, he stepped forward and fell into the night.

_Those who have lost their souls cannot be saved by the hands of mere mortals… _

-

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Souta looked up from the table just in time to see his big sister fall face first on the floor. He then casually went back to his dinner as she got up, ignoring her obscene cursing. "Hi sis. You're late for dinner."

"Dang it," insert curse. "That pervert's following me again."

On cue a transparent figure of a man walked into the room; or rather, floated in through the wall. Kagome loudly groaned. "For the last time, LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Souta, on the other hand, greeted the ghost with a bored, "What's up?" At that moment Grandpa Higurashi entered dramatically with two scrolls in each hand.

"Who would **dare** harass my precious granddaughter on her 15th birthday?"

"Grandpa," Kagome sighed from the floor. "The ghost's behind you."

This was a typical everyday occurrence at the Higurashi Shrine. As much as Kagome knew this would look amusing, and quite amazing, for someone looking in through the proverbial window, she was terribly tired of this routine. Ever since she and Souta were children they had been gifted with the inexplicable gift of seeing the deceased. Ironically, shrine keeper Grandpa neither saw nor sensed anything.

"How lucky," Mama came in from the kitchen, carrying a large plate of mild curry. "I wish I could see what you're seeing. I can only see the outlines, and even then just barely."

"You're the one who's lucky," Kagome said as she sat down for dinner. "Because he's trying to look under your skirt right now."

After some screaming and a ritualistic but useless exorcism dance from dear old Grandpa, they were finally eating dinner. The pervert AKA ghost was by the corner, trembling from Kagome's earlier threats about somehow finding a way to send him to hell even if it took the rest of her lifetime.

"So," Mama broke the silence with her trademark grin. "How was your birthday bash?"

"Well," Kagome reminisced. "There was dancing. Hojo tried to waltz with me. Sango—remember the gymnast from Hong Kong?—she break-danced and did a couple of handstands. She was really good at it, too. After that, let's see…Yuka got me a tube top, Eri a tongue ring, and Ayumi gave me the entire Harry Potter series."

Grandpa blinked. "Well, I always thought Ayumi was the sensible one."

After dinner Kagome and Souta saw Mama and Grandpa off for a convention-type meeting near Akihabara. As the two adults left Kagome thought she saw something fly over their heads in the night sky, but quickly dismissed it and shut the door.

"Well, time for some late night cramming," Kagome rubbed her stiff shoulder.

"Why don't you just make the ghosts memorize the equations?" Souta suggested.

"You mean cheat?"

"Yeah."

"Because the last time I did that the ghosts forgot the equations."

It was 11 PM before the two were in their respective beds and dreaming about baby bunnies and fluffy white clouds. That is, until Kagome woke up with a start. She looked outside her curtained window just as lightning flashed, which was strange because it was supposed to be clear all week. Kagome sat upright.

And realized she wasn't alone.

There on her nightstand a silver-haired man stood, clothed in all black. A red sash with a, of all things, katana hang from his hips. Kagome's scream died in her throat the moment her eyes landed on the sword. He, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice her at all.

"It's here," he mumbled. "I can sense it. But why don't I see it? I can't hear it either."

"Uh," Kagome blinked. Was he talking to himself? But more importantly, how had he gotten in?

Rain began to pour outside as the man hopped off her nightstand, hardly making a sound. That was when she saw two triangular shapes atop his head. Were those…Dog ears?

"Hello? Excuse me."

"I can't smell it. Why can't I find it?"

"HEY!"

The man froze when not one, not two, but FIVE pillows spontaneously hit the back of his head and back. He slowly turned around to face a teenage girl sitting on her bed, holding two more pillows with a deadly expression on her face.

"I'm talking to you! Who are you to break into my house, MY ROOM, and ignore me?"

He stared. Then he turned his head to check if there was anyone else inside the room and then turned back to stare at her again. "You can…see me." It was more of a slow realization than a hesitant question.

"Well of course! Who else would I be yelling at?" She glared.

"That's impossible!" he scowled. "Mortals aren't capable of that! That's against the laws of death." He grumbled the last part.

"Laws of…what?"

He looked away, as if distracted by something. He walked to the foot of her bed and leaned down to examine an object. She crawled to the end of her bed and saw that he was looking at the perverted ghost from before. The ghost at the moment was busy cowering in the shadows.

"Please don't send me to hell," the ghost whimpered.

"Relax, you old fart," the dog-eared man scoffed. "If you were meant to be in hell you would've been dragged down the moment you died. No, you're meant for something better." He unsheathed his sword, which turned out to be a rusty weapon, and gently tapped the dull side on the man's forehead. "You're meant for the Soul Society."

Kagome witnessed a pink aura consume the ghost, who was soon engulfed by a bright white light before disappearing altogether. "What was," she paused, "that?"

"Cleansing ritual," he spoke haughtily. "Otherwise known as Purification."

She blinked. "And that would be…?"

"I don't have to explain everything to a mortal," he snapped. "Now get out of my way before…"

Lightning flashed. Except this time both she and he saw what they hadn't seen before through the curtains: a gigantic silhouette of a monstrous creature, which was suspended in midair, and in its arms a small figure dangled lifelessly, a figure Kagome recognized all too well. When the thunder rumbled, the silhouette disappeared from the window.

"Souta!" she shrieked just as the dog-eared man dashed out of the room, slamming the door open. Kagome tumbled out of bed and followed him downstairs. She rushed to the front entrance where she found him out in the rain, looking up at something she could not make out. She slowly walked out of the open doorway and squinted.

A large, centipede-like creature with the torso of a woman was floating in the air; and in two of her numerous arms was the barely conscious body of her little brother.

"Ugh," Souta groaned, a bruise forming on his forehead. "Sis…" he went limp.

_"Souta!" _

"If it isn't Mistress Centipede," the dog-eared man sneered. "What's this? You going to devour another boy?"

The demonic creature hissed. "A shinigami? In Tokyo? Now that's a rarity." She snapped around and swung her centipede body at both Kagome and the man. Kagome didn't know what happened, but she soon found herself in the man's arms and around twenty feet away from where they had been, which had now become a small crater filled with some rubbles.

Mistress Centipede took that moment to soar across the shrine and escape.

"Fuck!" dog-ears roared and tried to go after her, but two slender hands grabbed his sleeve. "What're you doing?"

"I'm coming with you!" Kagome yelled, her voice unwavering in the howling wind and rain. They were both drenched by then, and dog-ears was not in the mood to argue.

"You don't even know what you're up against!"

"Then tell me!"

He sighed. "Fine." And with that he wrapped one arm around her waist and leapt into the sky. "Mistress Centipede is a demon—a creature that was once a lost soul, or what you'd call a ghost. Demons are the twisted forms born from the miseries within the ghosts." They landed on the roof and he let her go. "They come back the opposite of what they used to be and prey on those they love." He held his rusty sword up, and, before her very eyes, it transformed within a golden light into an enormous sword several times longer and wider than before.

"Yo," he cried. "Come out you ugly hag!" Kagome couldn't help but think how redundant that was.

In an instant the demon appeared again. "You insolent wretch!" Before she could continue, however, he had disappeared from sight. Both Kagome and the demon looked around, confused. Then a painful, terrible shriek.

Kagome saw two of the centipede's arms fall off in a bloody mess, which happened to be the ones holding Souta in the air. Kagome carefully navigated her way in the rain to Souta, who had fallen not far from where she was on the roof. As dog-ears reappeared behind her Kagome collapsed on her knees to check on her brother's pulse, which was strong to her great relief.

_"You idiot!" _

Everything after that seemed to happen in slow motion. She turned around just as Mistress Centipede came down on her, her fangs protruding in hysteria with thirst for blood. Kagome thought she saw death itself. Then dog-ears appeared in front of her and blood flew everywhere, mixed in the rain that fell from the sky.

Kagome screamed. _"NO!" _

Dog-ears fell, but not before his sword met the chest of the demon and then retransformed into its original shape in his hands. The demon screeched in pain and pulled back as dog-ears lay motionless before Kagome.

She panicked and crawled away from Souta. "Are you OK?"

"Moron…" he struggled out. "You…interfered. Now who's going to save your brother?"

She didn't know if she was crying as the rain began to fall harder. "What can I do? Is there anything…"

He expectantly watched her. "There is one option. But there's a good chance…you might die."

_"YOU!" _The demon cried, holding its bloody chest in agony. _"I'LL __EAT__ YOU __ALL__!" _

"You'll," dog-ears continued, "have to run this untransformed sword through your heart. I could…give you my spiritual powers. But if it fails…"

"We'll die," Kagome finished. "But if I don't do this, we'll still die."

He smirked. "Smart wench."

"I have a name," she said as dog-ears held the hilt of his sword to his bleeding chest. "It's Kagome."

He nodded. "And I'm Inuyasha. A shinigami."

Kagome gently took the blade in her hands and held it before her chest. The cries of the demon, Inuyasha's pained gasps, and her own heartbeat were silenced, the sound of the rain drowning everything out in its entirety.

Then…a sharp intake of breath.

Darkness.


	2. My Replacement

"Sesshomaru!"

Footsteps approached the white-haired figure walking in the corridors. At the mention of his name the figure froze and slowly turned around. "You will address me as your captain, lieutenant."

Kouga nonchalantly waved it off. "Whatever, _Captain_."

Sesshomaru turned around to walk away when Kouga cut him off.

"Hey, don't you want an update on Inuyasha?"

Sesshomaru kept walking. "I am not interested in that half-breed's whereabouts."

Kouga shrugged. "Then I guess it's a good thing we lost all traces of his spiritual pressure."

Captain Sesshomaru froze.

Lieutenant Kouga smirked. "It seems the half-breed's finally got what was coming to him."

* * *

**Quote the Reaper**

Number Two: My Replacement

* * *

Kagome groggily woke up. Her body was sore all over and she was exhausted, but she couldn't imagine why. She remembered having a very strange dream…something about dogs and centipedes. And she was putting a sword to her chest. Odd.

She sighed and got out of bed. She winced and picked up her foot. There was a very small cut, like a paper cut, on her ankle. Weird.

She got dressed for school and examined her reflection in the mirror. There was a bruise on her shoulder. OK, where did _that_ come from? Strange.

Kagome grabbed her bag and slightly burnt toast and opened the front door. She found her mom, grandpa and little brother staring at the roof. "What's going on?"

"I think last night's rainstorm blew a couple of branches over our roof," Grandpa mumbled.

The fifteen year old looked up at the roof and nearly dropped her bag in shock. The roof was a mess. The tiles were crushed, missing and scattered about. It looked like an entire tree had collided with the roof.

"I can't believe none of us woke up during the storm," her mother idly commented. "Well, I better tidy this place up."

Kagome shook her head and left for school, a little disoriented. Things just kept getting weirder by the minute.

* * *

_"How dare you step onto this shrine and hurt MY brother," Kagome growled. "Now stay where you are and I'll make it painless!"_

_"You filthy human!" Mistress Centipede screeched, struggling to recover from her injury. "If I had all my legs—"_

_"Watch out!" Inuyasha yelled from where he lay. "She may be missing half her body, but she can still escape!"_

_"Oh no she won't." Kagome smiled knowingly and pulled the arrow back, aiming at the heart of the demon. Then, without hesitation, she released the—_

* * *

"I heard your house was trashed."

Kagome blinked and looked up at Yuka. "Oh, no, it was just…the roof."

"Daydreaming again?" Eri teased from beside her.

"You have a lot to worry about, don't you?" Ayumi patted her head.

"Do you need any help cleaning up?"

Kagome turned to the tall figure of Sango behind her. "Uh, no, no…the shrine's fine. Thanks for the offer." Sango was a pretty intimidating figure. She was stronger than half the male population of this school, most of the men in the Kendo and Judo club adored her, and she was a no-nonsense teen with high standards.

"What's this talk about a shrine?"

Eri and Yuka squealed as Ayumi blushed several different colors of red. Sango was the only one unaffected by the new presence. "Oh, hey there. The Higurashi shrine was damaged from last night's storm."

"Higurashi shrine? Kagome's house is a shrine? Cool."

Kagome eyed the newcomer. She stood up so fast she knocked her chair over. "YOU!"

Yuka blinked. "You two met before?"

Kagome stared at the violet-eyed man. He didn't have the dog ears and his hair was black, but there was no mistaking it. It had to be him!

"Of course we've never met before," he smirked. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Higurashi-san." He offered his hand.

She looked at his hand and read the words written on his palm;

_If you make a scene I'll kill you._

Kagome gulped and warily eyed the sneering face of Inuyasha. It hadn't been a dream after all.

* * *

"You look well," Inuyasha dully said.

She glared. "I still have bruises from last night."

"You're lucky you weren't decapitated." He leaned over the roof railing. "You humans and your tall buildings. Why do you like being stacked on top of each other?"

"This is how schools are built," she tapped her foot in impatience. "And what's with that disguise? What happened to your dog ears?"

"Sweetie, humans don't react well to dog-eared people. That's why I'm Yasha Takahashi, the new transfer student from New York, New York."

"Don't call me that!" She hissed and walked up to him. "I think I deserve an explanation. What exactly is a Shinigami doing in Tokyo? Are there more dog-eared people like you?"

The knuckles on the steel railing went white and he avoided her gaze. "No. There aren't anymore dog-eared _people_. As for why I'm here, it's your job now."

Kagome frowned. "What?"

He faced her with a smug grin on his lips. "You're my replacement, girly-girl."

"Wh—" Kagome stepped back as he jumped on her. What happened next left her dazed and empty. First he was on top of her, and the next thing she knew she was a few feet away, witnessing Inuyasha straddle her hips with a hand over her mouth. Or at least her physical mouth. "Whoa, what, what happened?" She looked at her hands. They looked solid.

Inuyasha looked up at the Kagome sitting a few feet away, a hand over the unconscious Kagome's mouth. "You're having an out-of-body-experience. You're in your Shinigami form."

Kagome stood up as the memories of last night began to resurface. She had fired her arrow… "Purification."

"That's your job," he said as he stood up over her body. "Having lived in a shrine all your life, it's natural for your spiritual pressure to be unusually strong. I didn't expect you to suck all of **mine** during the transfer process, but I guess I have an excuse to watch someone else do my work now."

"W-w-wait," Kagome stuttered and backed away from Inuyasha. "Your replacement? I didn't agree to this."

"You made an oath when you agreed to take my powers," he growled, not too pleased with her reaction. "Besides, haven't you noticed? You've been luring demons to your shrine for quite a while, at least ever since your fifteenth birthday."

"I have?"

"If you don't take over my duty as a Shinigami, until I recover my powers, then you'll be giving your family the death sentence. I'm beginning to realize I was sent to Tokyo because you were manifesting your spiritual pressures. And look what you got me into. I'm practically at your mercy now because I had to save a certain damsel-in-distress when she wouldn't stay in her room—"

"OK, I get it," Kagome shouted. "Thanks for the guilt-trip, I really needed that."

"No problem, princess."

The bell rang.

"Shoot, it's third period," Kagome blinked. "Quick, put me back in my body."

He held up a hand. "No way, we haven't even started your training."

_"Training?"_

Inuyasha somehow managed to grab her wrist and pull her forward. "I'm using the remnants of my Shinigami power to help you learn. You think it's easy to see you, much less touch you in the condition I'm in? In this disguise I can't do anything." He leaned down and stopped only when their noses were barely touching. "You owe me. Big time."

* * *

"Kagome!"

She turned around, tired and sore. "Hey guys."

The trio surrounded her. Kagome recognized their behavior—they had a juicy gossip. And she was not in the mood, certainly not after Inuyasha's training session. "Guys, I have to get home."

"You AND Yasha were missing during History class," Eri grinned. "So spill. Were you busy seducing the new guy?"

"Eh?" Kagome blinked.

_"Your stance is all wrong," he said as he grabbed her shoulders. "Move your foot a bit—there, that's better."_

_"But now my aim's off," Kagome muttered._

_He gingerly wrapped his fingers around her wrist and whispered in her ear, "Just trust me."_

Kagome blushed. "No! I just got distracted, that's all. Besides, I'm not interested—"

"Higurashi-san," Inuyasha came over with his bag slung over his shoulder. "Let's go."

"Go?" The four girls asked in unison.

"Of course, you promised I could walk you home today," he said and winked.

Kagome was so stunned she didn't realize he was dragging her away until Ayumi said, "Have fun you two!"

Kagome groaned and nudged his hand away. "For crying out loud, stop doing that!"

"Do what?" He said with an innocent expression on his face.

"Making people think we're…we're," she looked around, "an item."

He frowned. "What the hell's an **item**?"

Kagome stared. "…never mind."

He shrugged. "Whatever. We have work to do anyway."

"What?"

"Haven't you noticed? One of your friends' been missing for a while now."

"Missing? Oh, Sango? She probably went home sick or—"

"Are you really that dense?" He snapped. "Can't you sense her spiritual pressure?" With that he unceremoniously pushed her down and she woke up in her Shinigami form yet again.

"Stop doing that!" She cried once she got her bearings together.

Then she heard a scream in the distance.

Inuyasha picked up her unconscious body and slung the limp body over his shoulder. "C'mon, we better get going before there's any carnage."

Carnage? Kagome felt the oncoming feeling of dread and followed Inuyasha through the streets. The scream sounded familiar but foreign at the same time. She'd never expected _her_ to scream. They passed the elementary school playground and the park before reaching a rundown building. Kagome was about to ask why they were here when an explosion shook the ground.

"Sango, was it?" Inuyasha turned around. "Some humans, mostly fighters, are able to strengthen their spiritual pressures just by training. Unfortunately that attracts a lot of demons, and since so many are already gathered in Tokyo…" he left off with an unkind smile. "You know what to do."

Kagome shakily nodded and dashed into the abandoned grounds. Everything, it seemed, was all her fault. Her brother, now her friend…

There was another scream.

She ran like she'd never run before and climbed the stairs to the top floor. When she reached the source of the screams she froze at the sight.

Sango, bloodied and beaten, lay unconscious on the concrete floor. Above her hovered a raven-like monstrosity, blood on its beak and wings.

Kagome scowled and rage ceased her.

* * *

Next chapter—the training continues…


End file.
